Updating a Cabin for Energy Efficiency

When lifestyle blogger Melissa Coleman found a 50-year-old A-frame cabin on a lake in the Northern Minnesota woods, she wanted to restore it for year-round use without losing the original character of the 1970s kit house. She and Anton Moody of Taiga Design + Build determined and installed just the right materials for a new roof, new siding, new windows, and new decking.

The original roof of split cedar shakes was replaced with similar-looking but much more durable and low-maintenance composite cedar shakes made from recycled plastic materials. The new siding and decking by Kebony is a modified wood known for its longevity that will acquire a natural silver patina over time. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) were added for insulation and energy efficiency and skylights for more natural light.

The new fenestration includes floor-to-ceiling picture windows that bring the outside in and a Marvin Skycove, a glass structure that invites light from four directions and projects into the open air, creating a perch for a reading nook. The entire interior is skinned with the cabin’s original western red cedar paneling. In the end, 90% of the original cabin’s bones were retained while upgrading the cozy retreat’s form and function to 21st-century standards of excellence. 

“We start our restorations by trying to match the designs and techniques of these older places from the ’30s and ’40s, but updating them to be functional for the future.”

—Anton Moody, designer/builder

Designer/builder Taiga Design + Build, taigadesignbuild.com

Interior designer Melissa Coleman, thefauxmartha.com

Location Grand Marais, Minn.

Photos Kristian Alveo for Kebony

From Fine Homebuilding #310

RELATED STORIES

• Designing a Cabin
• Magnificent Mountain Cabin
• Remodeling for Energy Efficiency

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